Well production apparatus



May '21, 1935. J. H. HOWARD WELL PRODUCTION APPARATUS Filed Jan. 23,1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 21, 1935. J. H. HOWARD WELL PRODUCTIONAPPARATUS Filed Jan. 23, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I II I I I I I I I I II I l '/A////Y//////////////// is in m n n T 4 M 5 y 6 H w y 3 y M 5 5HI- IH" u m a. m y

M 2 z V Patented May 21, 1935 2,002,062 WELL PRODUCTION APPARATUS JamesH. Howard, Houston, Tex., assignor to J. H.

McEvoy & Company, Houston, Tex., a corporation of Texas ApplicationJanuary 23, 1932, Serial No. 588,254

9 Claims.

This invention relates to deep well production apparatus.

After a'well has been drilled, if the pressure of the fluid in the wellis insuflicient to force it out of the casing, a tubing is loweredthrough the casing head valve and anchored in the easing. The fluid willthen flow, or may be pumped, through the tubing and into the assembly ofvalvedflow lines thereabove, known as the Christmas tree. The tubingextends upwardly from the casing through the valve to the Christmastree, and while it is in place the valve cannot be closed.

This invention has for its general object the provision of new andimproved elements and new and improved combinations of elements toconstitute an apparatus of this character in which the valve may beclosed without removing the tubing from the casing.

Specific objects will hereinafter appear.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated by theaccompanying drawings, of which Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of theapparatus; Fig. 2, a transverse section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 5; Fig.3, a partly sectional side elevation showing the valve in its openedposition; Fig. 4, a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the valve in itsclosed position and taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 5; Fig. 5, alongitudinal section on the line 55 of Fig. 4; and Fig. 6, a detail viewof the tubing connecting pipe removably carried by the valve.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings, the well casing is indicated at i; the valvebody at 2; the housing at 3; and the tubing at 4. The tubing 4 issurrounded by and sealed to the housing 3 by packing means 54 andextends thereabove for connection to the Christmas tree, not shown. Thhousing 3 has outlets l3.

The upper section 5 of the tubing is held in place above the valve by ananchor 6 having fluid passageways 6a and connected by threads I to thevalve body 2, the section 5 being connected to the anchor 6 by threads8. The lower section 9 of the tubing is held below the valve by theanchor l0 having fluid passageways I 0a and resting upon an internalannular shoulder H in the valve body 2. The anchor I0 is connected tothe lower tubing section 9 by threads l2..

By the means just described, the upper section 5 of the tubing is heldimmediately above the valve; and the lower section 9 of the tubing isheld immediately below the valve. In order to close the casing l, and toopen the casing l and connect the spaced sections 5 and 3 of the tubingso that fluid may flow upwardly from the lower tubing section 9 into theupper tubing section 5, and also from the space between the casing I andthe lower tubing section 9 into the space between the housing 3 and theupper tub- 5 ing section 5 and out of the outlets l3, the presentinvention provides a new and improved valve which will now be described.

The valve herein disclosed contains practically all of the elements ofthe valve shown by Let- 10 ters Patent of the United States to C. R. LawNo. 1,734,866, of November 5, 1929. These elements are not hereinclaimed per se. The following is a description thereof:

Within the body 2 are upper and lower valve carrying plates 32, theshape of which is shown by Fig. 5 and the arrangement of which is shownby Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4. These plates have oppositely disposed ellipticalopenings 33 therethrough which are in substantial alignment with eachother. Within each of the openings 33 is a valve 34, the outer surfaceof which has a recess 33a (Fig. 1) These valves 34 are carried by theplates 32 into alignment with the fluid passageways 29, and then, bymeans hereinafter described, they are forced apart into sealingengagement with the seats 3| to close the casing l.

The ends of the valve carrying plates 32 are made in the form of rings41 and these rings are tapered, as shown clearly by Figs. 1 and 4, theinner surfaces thereof being beveled as indicated at 48. The surfaces 48are adapted to be engaged by the oppositely beveled surfaces 45 of aring 44, whereby the rings 41 are moved into engagement with the seats3| (after the valve has been opened to move the rings into alignmentwith the seats 3! by means hereinafter described).

The valve body 2 has a suitable stufling box indicated generally by thenumeral 24. The valve actuating rod 25 works through this stuffing boxand has an annular rib 25 thereon between the end plate 23 of the valvebody and the gland 21 to prevent longitudinal movement of the rod whenit is rotated. The parts are held together by bolts 28. The rod 25 maybe rotated by means of a conventional hand wheel (not shown).

Between the plates 32. there is a crosshead or actuating nut 35 engagedby the threads 36 of the rod 25. The inner end of the nut 35 extendsbetween the valves 34 and has a beveled face 33 (Fig. 1), and shoulders38 (Fig. 5), adapted to engage the shoulders 39 projecting from theopposing faces of 'the valves 34. The nut 35 is thereby connected to thevalves 34. The inwardly extending end of the nut 35 also has inwardlyextending oppositely disposed flanges 40 (Fig. 2) which embrace thewedge member 4| which has a face 42 (Fig. 1), reversely beveled withrespect to, and adapted to cooperate with, the beveled face 31 of thenut 35.

The end of the wedge member 4| has a socket 43 (Fig. 1) for thereception of the inner end of the actuating rod 25. The other end of thewedge member 4| is made in the form of the ring 44 above referred to.The ring 44 has oppositely disposed wings 46, whose sides bear againstthe sides of the valve body 2 thereby forming guides for the ring 44.The end of the wings 23 strike against the end plate 22 of the valvebody when the valves 34 are closed. The wedge member 4| isformed withopposing shoulders 49 adapted to engage the shoulders 50 carried by eachof the valves 34 (Fig. 5), thus operatively connecting the wedge member4| and said valves.

Adjacent the outer end of the nut 35 are dogs 5| pivotally connected tothe valve carrying plates 32. These dogs serve to operatively connectthe nut 35 and the valve carrying plates 32. Adjacent the end plate 23,the valve body is provided with pockets 52 for the-reception of saiddogs to permit them to release the nut 35 as hereinafter set forth,

The elements of the valve just described are disclosed by the LettersPatent to C. R. Law above referred to. To this valve, the presentinvention adds the following parts: As shown particularly by Figs. 1 and6, apipe 60, to connect the upper and lower sections 5 and 9 of thetubing when the valve is opened, is removably secured within andconcentric with the ring 44 by suitable ribs 6|, threaded as indicatedby the numeral 62, and beveled to snugly engage the beveled extremitiesof the anchors 3 and Ill (Fig. l).

The operation of the mechanism will now be described.

Assuming that the valves 34 are seated against the respective seats 3|,3| and the casing closed,

as shown by Figs. 2 and 4, if it is desired to open the casing and movethe valves into their inactive positions, the-rod 25 may be turned tomove the nut 35 to separate the beveled face 31 of the nut 35 from thebeveled face 42 of the wedge 4|, and this will permit movement of thevalves 34 inwardly in the slots 33 of valve carrying plates 32 away fromthe seats 3|.

When the rod 25 is rotated further, the nut 35 is moved further and intoengagement with the ends 53 of the dogs 5| carried by the valve carryingplates 32. The walls of the casing will hold the dogs 5| in engagementwith the nut 35 and the nut 35 will, therefore, carry the dogs with it,and the dogs will carry the valve carrying plates 32 so that the valves44 will be carried by the latter into their inactive positions.

The wedge member 4|, being operatively connected to the valves 34 by theshoulders 49 and 50, will follow the moving valves 34; and so the rings41 carried by the valve carrying plates 32 and the ring 44 carried bythe wedge 4| will move into alignment with the passageway 29 when thevalves 34 are moved out of said passageway; and the pipe 60 will, at thesame time, be moved into alignment with the upper and lower sections 5and 3 of the tubing.

When the rings 41 are in alignment with the valve seats 3|, the opposingends 55 (Fig. 5) of the valve carrying plates 32 will strike the endplate 23 of the valve body and the movement of said plates 32 in thisdirection will be stopped. Simultaneously. the free ends of the dogs 5|will recede into their pockets 52 out of engagement with the nut 35, sothat the valve carrying plates 32 and the nut 35 are disconnected.

When the rod 25 is rotated further, the nut 35 will be moved further butthe plates 32 will not. The rings 41 are then in alignment with thefluid passageway 29. The ring 44, carried by the nut 35, will,therefore, be moved further between the rings 41 that are heldstationary by the valve carrying plates 32. When the nut 35 is stoppedby the lugs 56, the ring 44 is in alignment with the rings 41, and thepipe 60 is in alignment with the tubing anchors 6 and Ill. The beveledpipe 30 is then in snug engagement with the beveled meeting extremitiesof the tubing anchors 6 and I0; and the rings 41 are snugly engaged bythe rings 44 and seats 3|. Continued movement of the nut 35, after theplates 32 are stopped, is not interfered with by the valves 34 becausethe openings in plates 32, in which the valves are disposed, areelliptical. v

When it is desired to open the casing, the rotation of the rod 25 willbe reversed, which will cause a reverse movement of the nut 35. Uponreverse movement of the nut 35, the entire mechaniSm described will movebackward in the valve body, the inwardly extending end of the nut 35engaging the opposing end of the wedge member 4| to move the ring 44 torelease the rings 41 from the seats 4|. Continued rotation of the rod 25will move the nut 35, the nut 35 will move the wedge 4|, and the wedgewill move the ring 44. The valves 34 will be moved by the nut 35 andwedge 4| (the nut 35 and the valves 34 being connected by shoulders 38and 39, and the wedge 4| and valves 34 being connected by shoulders 49and 50) and the valves 34 and valve carrying plates 32 will be movedwith the other elements. When the wings 45 strike the end plate 22(Figs. 4 and 5), the backward movement of the wedge member 4| isstopped, and the valves 34 will then be in alignment with the seats 3|.When the rod 25 is rotated further, the nut 35 is moved further so thatthe beveled face 31 of the nut 35 engages the beveled face 44 of thewedge 4 and the valves 34 are thereby forced apart into sealingengagement with the valve seats 3 to close the casing.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that when it is desired to closethe casing, to repair the Christmas tree, or for any other reason, it isnot necessary to remove the tubing from the casingnor is it necessary tomove any part of the tubing. The casing may be closed by closing thevalve.

And when it is desired to open the casing again and to cause fluid toflow through the tubing, that can be accomplished by opening the valve,because the spaced sections of the tubing are automatically connectedwhen the valve is opened.

Various other advantages of this invention will occur to those skilledin the art. The invention is not limited to the preferred embodimentshown.

I claim: Y

1. The combination of a well casing; a tubing extending into said casingand having spaced upper and lower sections; a valve on said casing; ahousing above said valve, about said upper tubing section, and having anoutlet; and an anchor to hold said lower tubing section beneath saidvalve, said anchor having a fluid passageway therethrough: said valvebeing movable transversely of said casing to close said casing, and toopen said casing and connect said tubing sections.

2. The combination of a well casing; a valve on said casing; a housingabove said valve and having an outlet; a lower tubing section; an anchorto hold said lower tubing section in said casing beneath said valve,said anchor having a fluid passageway therethrough; an upper tubingsection secured within and extending through said housing; said valveserving to stop the flow of fluid from said casing and said lower tubingsection to said housing and said upper tubing section; said valve havingan opening to permit the flow of fluid from said lower tubing sectioninto said upper tubing section, and an opening to permit the flow offluid from the space between said lower tubing section and said casinginto the space between said upper tubing section and said housing.

3. The combination of a well casing; a valve on said casing; a housingabove said valve and having an outlet; a lower tubing section; an anchorto hold said lower tubing section in said casing beneath said valve,said anchor having a fluid passageway therethrough; an upper tubingsection within and extending through said housing; and an anchor to holdsaid upper tubing section in said housing above said valve, said anchorhaving a fluid passageway therethrough; said valve serving to stop theflow of fluid from said casing and said lower tubing section to saidhousing and said upper tubing section; said valve having a centralopening to permit the flow of fluid from said lower tubing section intosaid upper tubing section, and an opening to permit the flow of fluidfrom the space between said lower tubing section and said casing intothe space between said upper tubing section and said housing.

4. The combination of a well casing; a valve body connected to saidcasing and having a fluid passageway communicating therewith; a tubingextending through said passageway into said casing and having spacedsections; a valve movable between said tubing sections across saidpassageway to close said casing; and a pipe movable transversely of saidpassageway to connect said tubing sections when said valve is moved outof said passageway.

5. The combination of a valve casing; a valve body connected to saidcasing and having a fluid passageway communicating therewith; a tubingextending through said passageway into said casing and having spacedsections; a valve movable between said tubing sections across saidpassageway to close said casing; a pipe movable transversely of saidpassageway to connect said tubing sections when said valve is moved outof said passageway; and a common actuator to move said valve and pipe.

6. The combination of a well casing; a valve body connected to saidcasing and having a fluid passageway communicating therewith; a tubingextending through said passageway into said casing and having spacedsections; a valve; a pipe; a plurality of rings; and means to move saidvalve between said tubing sections across and into sealing engagementwith the wall of said passageway to close said casing; and to open saidcasing by moving said valve out of said passageway, said pipe intoconnecting engagement with said tubing sections, and said rings to formthat portion of the wall of said passageway adjacent the path of saidvalve.

7. The combination of a. well casing; a valve body connected to saidcasing and having a fluid passageway communicating therewith; a tubingextending through said passageway into said casing and having spacedsections, the meeting ends of said sections being beveled; a valve; abeveled pipe; a plurality of rings; and means to move said valve betweensaid tubing sections across and then axially into sealing engagementwith the wall of said passageway to close said casing; and to open saidcasing by moving said valve out of said passageway, said pipe intoconnecting engagement with said tubing sections, and said rings to formthat portion of the wall of said passageway adjacent the path of saidvalve.

8. A valve body having a fluid passageway; a valve movable across saidpassageway; a member operatively associated with said valve and having afluid opening therethrough; and a fluid pipe adjacent said opening; saidmember being movable to cause communication between said opening andsaid passageway, and to move said pipe into said passageway.

9. A valve body having a fluid passageway; a valve; means to move saidvalve across and into sealing engagement with the wall of saidpassageway; a member operatively associated with said valve and havingan opening therethrough; a fluid pipe supported in and spaced from thewall of said opening; and means to move said member to align saidpassageway and said opening.

JAMES H. HOWARD.

